Adara gave him a mock glare, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.
“I still don’t understand,” she said plaintively. “How could this have happened? I’m sure they said…”
“I’m so sorry, I’ve been remiss,” Navid said suddenly, breaking into the conversation. “Please, come inside. Let me offer you some refreshments.”
Adara turned a beaming smile on him that made me groan inside. Couldn’t she look dour and disapproving, just this once?
To my chagrin, her face only brightened as she took Navid in for the first time. It was just like her not to have noticed him in her shock and excitement at seeing me.
“Actually,” Rek said quickly, “it’s better if we keep this as brief as possible and are seen by as few people as possible. Especially now my sister is here, we really should be getting back to the palace.”
Adara turned a frown on him while I glanced at the house’s windows. Navid must have convinced his parents to stay back while he came to investigate, but I would be astonished if they weren’t already watching us from within the house. Unless they were too distracted by all that gold they were supposed to be counting…
“Ooh!” Adara pressed her hands together, in response to something Rek said. “Don’t tell me you were following a lead, then?” Her excitement dimmed, her lips curving down. “But Zaria couldn’t possibly be involved with that gang!”
“The thieves?” I asked, all thought of Navid’s family forgotten. “Is that what brought you here, Rek?”
I carefully refrained from looking in Navid’s direction, hoping he was doing a better job of looking nonchalant than he had earlier.
“Of course I don’t think you’re involved with them,” Rek assured me. “But you were in the forest yesterday, and from what that woodcutter said, you saw something.” He grimaced. “I know it’s a stretch, but honestly I’m ready to follow any potential information, no matter how slim the chance of value, at this point.”
“Rek is determined to prove himself to Father,” Adara said conversationally.
“Adara!” Rek hissed.
She ignored him. “He wants to lead a delegation across the desert to the Four Kingdoms, but first he has to convince Father he’s capable. And of course we have to find the traitor before we can do anything else.”
CHAPTER8
“Traitor?” I looked between Adara and Rek in bewilderment.
“Adara!” Rek repeated in an even sterner tone.
“It’s Zaria!” she said. “We can trust Zaria.”
Rek threw a significant look toward Navid.
Adara smiled at Navid sweetly. “Navid is a good friend of Zaria’s, so I’m sure we can trust him, too.”
Rek groaned. “And this is why Father doesn’t put you in charge of investigations.”
Adara just laughed. She had never been one to be offended by the words of others—especially her brothers.
I couldn’t help smiling at the familiar dynamic between the siblings. Apparently growing up hadn’t changed Adara much.
But beneath the surface, my mind was roiling. Adara’s cryptic comments sounded serious. If there was more going on here than a gang of thieves, I couldn’t possibly justify keeping their hideout secret from the royals.
“What traitor?” I asked, my eyes on Rek. “You can’t mean the thieves. They’re criminals, certainly, but I wouldn’t classify them as traitors.”
He hesitated for a moment, his eyes straying to Navid again, and then he sighed. “I might as well tell you since Adara is clearly going to. We have reason to believe someone in the palace is working with the gang—directing their activities.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Someone in the palace?”
That was bad, but it still didn’t sound like it qualified as treason. I waited, guessing there was more to the story.
“Obviously we don’t want this information becoming public, but Father had organized for a delegation from Lanover to cross the desert for a visit.”
“Lanover?” Navid’s eyes widened. “One of the Four Kingdoms? I know Kuralan has been desperate to make connections with the new kingdoms given Ardasira is so much ahead of us there.” He lowered his voice to a mutter. “We certainly have more need of the economic assistance than they do.”